Wealthcare® App Hugosave Acquires Visa Principal Member Issuing Licence in Singapore

More than 60,000 existing clients invited to participate in re-carding exercise from January 2023

SINGAPORE, Dec. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Singapore-based Wealthcare^® and savings app Hugosave officially announced today that it has become a Visa Principal Member Issuing Licensee under its parent company, Atlas Consolidated Pte Ltd. As a Principal Licence holder, Hugosave will now be able to issue Visa cards directly, as well as sponsor Associate licences under Visa^[1].

"Becoming a Visa Principal Member Issuing Licensee places us alongside other key Visa clients and it is a recognition of our experience in risk underwriting and payments management. This status now allows us to not only scale our Hugosave business in and beyond Singapore swiftly; it allows us to expand our business opportunities by offering our own fintech-as-a-service (FaaS) platform," said David Fergusson, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Hugosave.

"Visa has been working with Fintech partners through our Visa Fintech Fast Track programme to support them as they go-to-market to launch their products and solutions and help them scale. With Hugosave becoming a principal issuer, they can now issue their own cards directly just like traditional Financial Institutions. We believe it is important to help more players enter the payments ecosystem to bring seamless and convenient digital payments to more consumers and businesses in Singapore," said Adeline Kim, Visa Country Manager for Singapore & Brunei.

"Under the Visa Fintech Fast Track Programme, we have achieved Visa Principal Member Issuing Licensee status after a rigorous application process in record time. This is a testament of Hugosave's capabilities in compliance and assures clients that their account safety as well as Hugosave's operating model is of world-class standards. With this new licence, Hugosave can now have greater flexibility in our operations and continue to deliver exceptional value to our clients," said Ben Davies, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, Hugosave.

New cards to be issued to all clients

As a newly-appointed Principal Licensee with Visa, Hugosave will be issuing new Hugosave Visa Platinum Debit Cards to all existing Hugosave Plus+ Account members. To provide greater flexibility and ease, clients have a 30-day period to opt in to receive their new Hugosave Debit Cards by mail at their convenience. All existing Hugosave clients will also receive a new Hugosave Account number.  Clients' existing Hugosave Debit Cards will remain valid until their new Hugosave Debit Cards have been activated.

Numberless card for enhanced security

The Hugosave Debit Card is a numberless debit card linked to the client's Hugosave Account. To enhance the safety and security of the Hugosave Account, access to card details such as the 16-digit card number, expiration date, and CVV are on-demand only through the Hugosave app, secured by biometrics and Hugosave PIN authentication. Only the client's name is printed on the Hugosave Debit Card. With the ability to lock their cards via the app at any time, Hugosave clients have a greater peace of mind knowing that they can easily secure their account and money anytime and anywhere.

To use the Hugosave Debit Card, clients simply need to ensure their Hugosave Plus+ Account is funded, up to S$5,000. Regardless of online or offline transactions, clients can use their Hugosave Debit Card to make payments at over 80 million Visa merchants globally^[2], with no additional fees as all foreign exchange rates on overseas transactions are based on the existing Visa FX rate.

Every transaction made on the Hugosave Debit Card will be rounded up to the nearest dollar through Hugosave's proprietary Roundups feature. The accumulated Roundups are swept into the client's Gold Vault and automatically invested into physical gold, helping them grow their savings over the long-term to get better value from their everyday spends and more a little at a time, often and early. In addition, Hugosave Debit Card clients can also explore a plethora of deals at https://hugosave.blog/offers.

Launched in July 2021, Hugosave is Singapore's first Wealthcare^® and savings app which helps clients become financially fit by spending smarter, saving more, and investing diligently, starting with gold. Today, more than 60,000 clients in Singapore are using Hugosave to optimise their finances. Owned and operated by Atlas Consolidated Pte Ltd, Hugosave was established in December 2019 by financial and technological stalwarts David Fergusson, Ben Davies, Braham Djidjelli and Surya Tamada. Hugosave is a certified FinTech of the Singapore FinTech Association and received its licensing approval to operate as a Major Payment Institution [PS20200550] from the Monetary Authority of Singapore on 1 April 2022 and Regulated Precious Metals Dealers Certification [PS20200001983] from the Ministry of Law, Singapore on 1 August 2021. 

www.hugosave.com